Update: sad to report that beloved Fran Kirk died earlier today (Nov. 29). Prayers and thoughts to the Kirk ohana. Stay tuned for details.
Fran Kirk, the veteran entrepreneur who brought the Society of Seven to Hawaii as the group’s manager and mentor, is under hospice care in an Arizona facility.
Kirk, who also served as entertainment director of the Main Showroom of the Outrigger Waikiki where the SOS group was anchored for decades before it became Blue Note Hawaii, has been coping with Alzheimer’s and other health issues, according to her son, Mike Kirk, a resident of Chandler, AZ.
Frannie, he said, is at a care facility and is in a peaceful sleep. However, the doctors say she may not linger for more than two days.
“I know she can hear me and her body language changes when I give her a kiss,” said Mike.
Frannie had been residing in Las Vegas for several years. An avid golfer, her Hawaii friends would periodically visit and they’d golf together.
She also visited Honolulu somewhat regularly, for doctor visits and personal business, but she hasn’t been the Frannie we all know.
“I moved to Las Vegas to be with and caregive her,” said Mike. “But I moved her to Phoenix July 25, but my home was two stories and we needed a single-floor place.”
In recent days and weeks, Frannie devised a strategy to conceal her loss of memory. “She would tell callers that she had something to tend to, to call back,” a means to cut short her conversations to hide her search for a word or respond to questions.
She eventually was placed in a facility that has been providing valuable and personal care.
Earlier, she suffered a fall and broke her femur and complicated her well-being, but received good care at the hospital. But X-rays showed she had spots on her kidney, an indication of cancer, and Mike said when she was still able to speak, she had complained of pain in the vicinity of her kidney.
“She did not like the rehab that followed,” he said.
And that began her decline in health and awareness.
On her Facebook page, Mike posted this:
“She is not doing well and she may not see Christmas. We did celebrate her 84th Bday and she enjoyed Roast Duck, Char Siu Chow Fun and Baby Bok Choi. She is comfortable and the Doc believes she is at peace.”
Friends can post a message on Facebook or dial her cellphone at (808) 271-3330 and “and I will read them to her daily,” said Mike. “I believe she can still hear, so. friends may call her.”
“The doctors think she will not last two more days; she is not eating and is not on IV.
He remembered a pivotal incident recently:
“There was one moment, when she looked up in air like she was speaking to someone,” said Mike.
“She then said, ‘Is it time?’”
And she hasn’t spoken since…
And that’s Show Biz. …